Change Management WalkMe TeamUpdated November 8, 2021

Managing Organizational Change the Right Way

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Managing Organizational Change the Right Way

To effectively implement change it must be managed accordingly at every level. The potency of change has a lot to do with executive sponsorship, alongside your team’s ability to follow the lead of change champions.

With a clearly defined vision for the future, staff are more likely to grasp an understanding of what’s required from them. Change leaders, including management and directors, should assign clear goals and accountabilities, to ensure staff objectives align with company interests.

When everyone is on the same page, staff can more effectively execute daily tasks, delivering on competencies which contribute to the bigger picture. This is all part and parcel of managing organizational change.

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If responsibilities break down at any level, it’s time to take a step back and reevaluate your strategy. The unique challenges presented will make managing organizational changeorganizational change feel like an impossible task at times, but with patience and perseverance you’ll be capable of cultivating a continuous improvement philosophy.

With so much to consider, it’s helpful to get some help on managing organizational change. This is where the Fogg Behavior Model pays dividends, which can be adapted based on your current circumstances.

The model focuses on the behavioral side of change, a crucial yet often overlooked aspect of development. If you’re intrigued to optimize your organizational change processes, you’ve come to the right place.

Influence the behavior of your workforce, successfully managing organizational change with these three focus points:

Motivation

Motivation is everything when it comes to change. Encouraging an unmotivated workforce to embrace change can feel like a losing battle. Alternatively, when staff are excited by the prospect of change, it can take on a new dimension.

Motivation starts from the top-down, where it’s the change leader’s responsibility to executively endorse change. It should be promoted vehemently, with a passion that encourages staff to embrace the same viewpoint.

When leadership speak with purpose, staff listen. When the correct communication channels are opened, change leaders can engage workers effectively. Another important question to address is how engaged are your workforce?

By gaining a scope for employee engagement, you can implement motivated employees in the right places. When employees feel disengaged from their daily duties, it’s important you realign their objectives to get them back on side.

Change is generally perceived as threatening, especially to a worker’s job security. Outlooks are usually negative or neutral, and it is the responsibility of executive staff to adjust the mindset of their team.

Staff are most concerned about their future, so it’s important to reassure them on how change is being introduced to help them.

When it’s deployed to benefit and perhaps take pressure off of staff, employees are more likely to embrace it.

To help individual team members feel valued, you should demonstrate how their new role fits with the organization’s future.

It is this level of communication that helps staff feel valued, incentivizing them to go above and beyond for change.

If you’re looking to motivate your team further, you’ll love these exercises.

Ability

Can you imagine suggesting changes to a team who don’t have the skills necessary to deliver outcomes? It wouldn’t go very far, stressing the importance of equipping your team with the resources they need to flourish.

Staff will warm to gradual behavioral shifts when they don’t view them as a huge mountain to climb. Never ask too much from your employees, and address basic needs first. Consider whether employees can fulfill their daily duties with current resources, and whether an infrastructure update is required.

Secure new resources immediately, which can be leveraged to boost performance. These are constantly evolving, so remember to stay up-to-speed.

You should next address whether you have the right staff, meaning reliable team members who can execute your strategy. It’s better to develop your team rather than recruiting externally, because those within will already have an advanced understanding of company culture.

If the change you introduce is completely different from what anyone is used to, are employees going to be able to cope? If not, give your team time to adapt, because you can’t expect them to get to grips with things immediately.

Triggers

The final stage in all of this is triggering desirable behaviors. This can happen once you’ve promoted a given behavior, and given your team time to get used to it.

If however the change doesn’t stick long term, everything will have been in vain. To avoid this, you’ll need to trigger changes if you want them to be repeated.

Deliver cues for positive habits, while promoting common change goals your team should be embracing. Encourage your team to develop their own triggers for certain behaviors, which would normally be personalized based on individual circumstances.

Staff should be conscious of their behavior, and harness the power of change throughout. Processes should be consistent across the board, and the daily duties of your team should offer multiple opportunities to trigger optimal behavior.

Establishing long term change takes time, but continuous coaching will help employees identify their preferred triggers. It will take practice, so be patient to achieve great results.

You will have realized a comprehensive behavioral change when it’s embedded in company culture and becomes part of the status quo, perhaps even without triggers.

If you’re looking to implement real change, check out one of these great tools!

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